Success with Ancestry's Thrulines
If you use Ancestry, and have done a DNA test there, you've heard about the shortcomings and the value of Thrulines. Recently I've been doing a drive to get all my Baysinger DNA matches actually onto my Ancestry tree, and properly tag them as DNA matches, and also tag each of their connections to our most recent common ancestor (MRCA). The match gets a DNA Match tree tag, each connecting ancestor gets a DNA Connection tag, up to the MRCA(s) which get a Common DNA Ancestor tag. When one does this on enough lines, in the pedigree view of the tree:
See all the DNA symbols? Isn't that cool!? The part that doesn't show here is the work of "building down" some or all of these lines. I'm happy to say that I've finished building down all lines from Elias Henry Baysinger, my two times great-grandfather, at least until the new DNA matches hit the database in January and February! I may have missed some descendants, and putting all the DNA matches into the tree shines a light in those neglected parts of the tree.
Hopefully all readers have already built down from each of your grandparents, so you know that this research is a bit different from reaching back in time. After your grandparents, the next step is to build down from each of your *great* grandparents. In my case, each of these families ranged from large to enormous, so I've not entirely finished there.
I make a habit of creating notes (and adding them to all applicable surmame groups (the colored dots) as I go, so I don't forget information. If I have contact information, I add it there. These match pages can be accessed both from the DNA Matches page or from Thrulines.
You can add multiple tree tags and even write custom tags. Second, add a DNA Markers fact. It used to be necessary to create a custom fact, but no longer. Facts are the left column of each profile page.
Third, click up each connection to your common ancestor and Tree Tag each as a DNA Connection, finishing with each shared ancestor who will get a Common DNA Ancestor tag.
If you keep a spreadsheet of all your DNA matches, now is the time to add the data to that spreadsheet. I don't; I rely on Ancestry's tools to help me keep track, and even put matches into the tree from other databases such as FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage, 23andMe, Gedmatch, and I hope LivingDNA soon. I put the source of the DNA data in the fact if it is not Ancestry. Most of my identified matches are from Ancestry, although some have tested or uploaded elsewhere also. I note that as well.
From the Thrulines one to one comparison, click the Match's photo or initials to be taken back to their match page. To see the full Thrulines for this shared ancestor, click View Thrulines below the ancestor.
From the Thrulines main page, hover over each ancestor's photo, if you have put a profile photo or pink/blue silhouette if you haven't, and you will see some information, like this:
If there are new matches, there is an Updated notice, and New! below. I just found a new second cousin once removed DNA match this way last night.
But how does one deal with 30 DNA matches from one ancestor? And how does Thrulines help organize the hunt?
Thrulines for each ancestor organizes matches by each offspring line. So if you have not yet fully built down your tree from some of those children, you will save a lot of time by not hop-scotching all over your tree, but rather building down one generation after another, until you get to the living DNA-testing generation.
There are some tricks I use if I can't name some of those living people*, but first let's see how Ancestry presents it.
Here is one daughter, and Ancestry correctly notes EVALUATE because she is the child of EH Baysinger's first wife, Margaret Jones. Many trees list her as Sarah Maria Goosic's daughter, in spite of the evidence. Just because it is presented, does not make it fact!
If you click on EVALUATE you will see the trees that suggest that this person belongs in your tree, and whether or not this is backed up with sources. I have found and used evidence found in this evaluation panel. Here's what happens when I clicked Nancy A ( McCown from the above, selected the tree with the most sources, then clicked the dropdown arrow for sources:
If you click one of the sources, you are take to it, and can then save it to someone in your tree. I assume the same is true for the photos. :-)
There is one last way to check yourself, and see whether or not you remembered to evaluate and find each match from each child's line of descent from an ancestor. It was not obvious to me, but I now use both views, which don't look like tabs at the top of each ancestor Thrulines page, but are:
The List view shows much less information, but makes it easy to find what you are looking for:
Click the match initials or photo and you are back to their match page; click View relationship and you are back to the one to one relationship comparison.
All in all, a nicely-done and useful tool. I hope you find it as useful as I have done!
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*A Note: if you cannot name a connection between one of your collaterals and your match, simply put in a place-holder name, such as "Mother/Father/Parent of Matchname." If it not clear what your match's name is, then use the nickname they have chosen. Sometimes you will be able to fill in the names later. At least you know where they fit on your tree. Ancestry makes you choose "son" or "daughter" but once you fill in the placeholder name, you can select Unknown.
That said, often much can be found at https://www.randymajors.com/p/ancestorsearch.html so don't give up!
 |
| Valorie Cowan Zimmerman's 6-generaton DNA-proved pedigree |
See all the DNA symbols? Isn't that cool!? The part that doesn't show here is the work of "building down" some or all of these lines. I'm happy to say that I've finished building down all lines from Elias Henry Baysinger, my two times great-grandfather, at least until the new DNA matches hit the database in January and February! I may have missed some descendants, and putting all the DNA matches into the tree shines a light in those neglected parts of the tree.
Hopefully all readers have already built down from each of your grandparents, so you know that this research is a bit different from reaching back in time. After your grandparents, the next step is to build down from each of your *great* grandparents. In my case, each of these families ranged from large to enormous, so I've not entirely finished there.
Thrulines: new Ancestry.com tool
This is where Thrulines has come to my rescue, helping me formalize and systematize the research, and keep track of progress. Before I started using Thrulines, I'd been working down my DNA match list, from the largest matches and closest cousins on down, marking relatives in common as I went with both notes and the new colored dots.DNA Match Notes
I have developed a system for using the Notes function in each DNA individual match page. Click the name of your match on the main DNA Match page, and you will see this on the top of the new page:
 |
| Click Notes icon to add or edit text in Notes |
I make a habit of creating notes (and adding them to all applicable surmame groups (the colored dots) as I go, so I don't forget information. If I have contact information, I add it there. These match pages can be accessed both from the DNA Matches page or from Thrulines.
Working on the Ancestry Tree
On the tree, for each match I do two things: first, the tree tag DNA Match as I described above. This is the top center of an individual person profile in an Ancestry tree: |
| Click the pencil to open the menu |
 |
| Click "Add" to add a fact |
Third, click up each connection to your common ancestor and Tree Tag each as a DNA Connection, finishing with each shared ancestor who will get a Common DNA Ancestor tag.
If you keep a spreadsheet of all your DNA matches, now is the time to add the data to that spreadsheet. I don't; I rely on Ancestry's tools to help me keep track, and even put matches into the tree from other databases such as FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage, 23andMe, Gedmatch, and I hope LivingDNA soon. I put the source of the DNA data in the fact if it is not Ancestry. Most of my identified matches are from Ancestry, although some have tested or uploaded elsewhere also. I note that as well.
Thrulines
You can access Thrulines from the main DNA menu, from the DNA dropdown menu, or from a match page. One the match page, to the bottom left, you will see the suggested common ancestors. If you click View Relationship, you will see your Thruline compared to your match, one to one, as on the right. |
| Click View Relationship |
 |
| Match not shown for privacy. Full Thrulines at top |
From the Thrulines one to one comparison, click the Match's photo or initials to be taken back to their match page. To see the full Thrulines for this shared ancestor, click View Thrulines below the ancestor.
From the Thrulines main page, hover over each ancestor's photo, if you have put a profile photo or pink/blue silhouette if you haven't, and you will see some information, like this:
But how does one deal with 30 DNA matches from one ancestor? And how does Thrulines help organize the hunt?
Thrulines for each ancestor organizes matches by each offspring line. So if you have not yet fully built down your tree from some of those children, you will save a lot of time by not hop-scotching all over your tree, but rather building down one generation after another, until you get to the living DNA-testing generation.
There are some tricks I use if I can't name some of those living people*, but first let's see how Ancestry presents it.
Here is one daughter, and Ancestry correctly notes EVALUATE because she is the child of EH Baysinger's first wife, Margaret Jones. Many trees list her as Sarah Maria Goosic's daughter, in spite of the evidence. Just because it is presented, does not make it fact!
 |
| Matches hidden for privacy |
If you click on EVALUATE you will see the trees that suggest that this person belongs in your tree, and whether or not this is backed up with sources. I have found and used evidence found in this evaluation panel. Here's what happens when I clicked Nancy A ( McCown from the above, selected the tree with the most sources, then clicked the dropdown arrow for sources:
If you click one of the sources, you are take to it, and can then save it to someone in your tree. I assume the same is true for the photos. :-)
There is one last way to check yourself, and see whether or not you remembered to evaluate and find each match from each child's line of descent from an ancestor. It was not obvious to me, but I now use both views, which don't look like tabs at the top of each ancestor Thrulines page, but are:
 |
| Click View relationship and you will see the one to one comparison |
Click the match initials or photo and you are back to their match page; click View relationship and you are back to the one to one relationship comparison.
All in all, a nicely-done and useful tool. I hope you find it as useful as I have done!
---
*A Note: if you cannot name a connection between one of your collaterals and your match, simply put in a place-holder name, such as "Mother/Father/Parent of Matchname." If it not clear what your match's name is, then use the nickname they have chosen. Sometimes you will be able to fill in the names later. At least you know where they fit on your tree. Ancestry makes you choose "son" or "daughter" but once you fill in the placeholder name, you can select Unknown.
That said, often much can be found at https://www.randymajors.com/p/ancestorsearch.html so don't give up!
 |
| Valorie Cowan Zimmerman |
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